Lath breaker



Feb. 23, 1943, c PA K 2,311,995

' LATH BREAKER Filed Jan. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l 55 I q a 1 il BY 7M21%? ATTORNEYS Feb. 23, 1943. c. E. PARKER LATH BREAKER Filed Jan. 21,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [I IN II daze-Ives peexae 44% W $7 4M INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY5- .ally 4' lengths.

Patented Feb. 23, 1943 LATH BREAKER Clarence E. Parker, Painesville,Ohio, assignorto The Coe Manufacturing Company, Painesville, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application January 21, 1942, Serial No. 427,609

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of wallboard forbuilding construction, etc., of the type commercially known asplasterboard or gypsum lath, and similar material.

More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for mechanicallybreaking relatively long lengths of plasterboard into more convenientlyhandled shorter pieces.

Commercial plasterboard of the character referred to comprises a gypsumcomposition core interposed between relatively thin facing sheets,usually paper, sometimes referred to as liners. The gypsum compositionfrom which the core of the plasterboard is made is formed into sheetswhile plastic and the facing material or sheets applied thereto inmachines well-known in the .art, commonly referred to as plasterboardmachines.

rality of conveyors arranged at different levels each adapted to receiveone or more plasterboards and carry them through a drying cham- 'ber.

For reasons unnecessary to enumerate here, the plasterboard isordinarily delivered to the dryer in relatively long lengths, usually 12lengths, and subsequently to drying broken into more convenientlyhandled shorter lengths, usu- It is common practice to perforate thefacing material or'liners at the places where it is desired toultimately break the relatively long lengths of plasterboard and tomanually break the plasterboard at the perforations upon its deliveryfrom the dryer.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of novelapparatus for automatically breaking relatively long lengths ofplasterboard and the like into more convenientlyhandled shorter pieces.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel machineadapted to be located adjacent the outfeed end of a multiple deck dryeror the like for breaking relatively long lengths of dry plasterboardinto more conveniently handled shorter pieces.

The present invention resides in certain details of construction andcombinations and arrangements of parts and further objects andadvantages thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiment described withreference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus embodying the presentinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. ,1.

The invention is particularly adapted for breaking plasterboard havingtransversely extending weakened portions and is herein shown anddescribed as embodied ,inapparatus designed for that purpose, but it isto be understood that the invention may be employed to break materialother than plasterboard. Accordingly. there is no intention herein tolimit the invention to the particular embodimentdisclosed, but, on theother hand, it ismy intention to cover all adaptations, modifications,alternateconstructions and uses which come within the practice of thoseskilled in the art to whichit pertains.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character A designatesgenerally a breakingmachine embodying the present invention ,locatedatthe outfeedend of a commercial multiple deckroller dryer B, only aportion of which isshown in the drawings. The number of decks inthebreaker A is the same as the number of decks in the dryer. Since thedecks are all, duplicates in construction, only one deck is herein shownanddescribed in detail,

As the plasterboard C, which, in the embodiment shown, consists of 12'lengths, 5 to thick and 16" wide, weakened every 4bya series oftransversely extending perforations ,9,.emerges from one of the decksofthe dryer B itpasses into thehorizontally aligned decks of the breakerA. The plasterboard first passes over the driven bottomroll II] and thenbetween the two driven rolls II and. I2, one located above and the otherbelow the path of travel of the plasterboard.

From the rolls I I and I2, theplasterboard travels over a plurality ofdriven bottom rolls I3, I4, I5, I6, I! and I8, locatedcomparativelyclose together and each rolla little higher than thepreceding roll. The bottom roll I I is in line with the bottom roll Illand-spaced therefrom ashort distance while the-bottom roll I3 isrelatively close to but slightly higher than-the roll I I. The rolls IIto, I8, inclusive, in efiect form an upwardly inclined path with respectto the substantially horizontal path formed by the rolls of the-dryerdeck and the rolls- Ill-to I2.

Continued movement of therplasterboard 0 through the-breaker causesittopass successively spaced alternately arranged top and 3 bottomdriven rolls I9, 20,-2I,'22 and 23. The'bottom approximately 8" apartand the rolls II, I3, I4,

I5, I 6, I1 and I3 are approximately 4 apart. The roll 23 is about 7 /2from the roll I8, and the rolls 20, 22, and 24 are about 12" apart. Thetop rolls I9, 2 I, and 23 are located approximately midway between therolls I8, 2|], 22; and 22, 23,

be rotated about their pivots to raise and. lower the roll I2 byvertically movable members 50 to which they are operatively connected bybolts 5|. The lower ends of the members 50 are operatively connected tocranks 52 carried by a horizontal shaft 53 rotatably supported in theframe proper and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 1, to raise the roll I2 by a foot treadle 54. A link 55,the lower end of which is pivotally connected to the foot treadle 54 andthe upper end of which is adapted to engage a fixed respectively. Asshown the roll 23 is slightly' closer to the roll 22 than the roll 24.The path formed by the rolls I9 to 25 is approximately 4" higher thanthe path formed by the rolls ID to I2. The construction is such that asthe plasterboard travels over the bottom rolls II], II, l3 to I8, and20, 22 and 24 and underneath the top or holddown rolls I2, I9, 2| and23, it is flexed first in one direction and then in another enough tocreate a tension great enough to break the paper facings and the core ofthe board when the paper facings are perforated without otherwisedamaging the board. The plasterboard is bent through an angleapproximately 5 to 12 since the distance between rolls I2 and 20 isabout 31 /2 inches and the distance between rolls I2 and I9 about 28inches. Because the distance between the weakened transverse line isapproximately 4 feet, the fact that the roll I9 is intermediate therolls I3 and 20 and the further fact that there are no top rolls betweenthe rolls I2 and I9, the bending or deflection is distributed throughoutthe plasterboard and the angle through which the board is bent variesslightly. The plasterboard C is shown broken at 9' in the drawings.

The rolls are supported in a suitable frame, designated generally by thereference character D, and may be driven in any conventional manner. Asshown the roll I0 is driven through the medium of a sprocket chain 26from the exit roll 21 of the dryer B and each of the bottom rolls I, I3,I4, I5, I6, I'I, I8, 20, 22 and 24 are driven from the preceding roll bymeans of sprocket chains 28, 29,30, 3|,32, 33, 34, 35, 33, and 31operatively connecting the same. The top or hold-down roll I2 is drivenfrom the bottom roll I I through the medium of star gears 40 connectedto the respective rolls and the top rolls I9, 2| and 23 are driven fromthe roll I2 by sprocket chains 4|, 42 and 43 operatively connecting thesame. The construction shown is such that the rolls of the breaker areall driven in timed relation to the rolls of the dryer but it will beapparent that any suitable arrangement for driving the rolls may beemployed in place of that shown. As shown the lower rolls III, II, I3 to|8, 20, 22 and 24 are rotatablysupported by suitable bearing membersbolted to side members 44 of the frame proper.

In order that lengths of plasterboard may be passed through the breakerwithout being broken ifdesired, provision is made for raising the top orhold-down rolls I2, I9, 2| and 23, thus enlarging thepass through whichthe plasterboard stop, 56 provides means for holding the foot treadleand in turn the roll I2 in its raised position. The roll I2 is normallyheld in its down position by gravity, the weight being sufficient toflex and break the plasterboard at the perforations 9. A slot 51 in themember 50 Where the bolt 5| projects therethrough permits a slightmovement of the rolls I2 independent of each other.

The top or hold-down rolls I9, 2| and; 23 are carriedby members 6|]located at opposite ends thereof, which members are pivotally connectedto the frame proper by bolts 6| located to the left of the roll 23, seeFig. l. The members 60 are pivotally connected to vertically movablemembers 62 by bolts 63 spaced a considerable distance from the bolts orpivots 6|. 7 The lower ends of the vertically movable members '62 areconnected to bearing boxes 64 which engage about eccentrics 65 on ahorizontal shaft 66 rotatably supported in suitable bearings on theframe proper and adapted to be rotated to raise and lower the members 60and in turn the top rolls I9, 2| and 23 by a crank 6'! attached thereto.The top roll 25 is rotatably supported in levers I0 pivotally connectedto the frame proper by bolts 'II in such a manner that the roll is freeto swing about a horizontal axis and thus merely rest upon the uppersurface of the plasterboard without exerting any considerable pressureother than its weight thereon.

As shown in the drawings the breaker A discharges the plasterboard ontoa multiple deck discharge table or rack E from which it isremovedmanually. Alternatively the plasterboard may be discharged onto asuitable conveyor or the like. The discharge table or rack E forms nopart of the present invention and is neither shown nor described indetail. Sufiice it to say that it comprises table tops or shelves I2supported by a suitable frame I3 and located slightly below the decks ofthe breaker A, so that more than one plasterboard can bedischargedthereon before it is necessary to remove the same. Preferablythe distance from a deck of the breaker A down to the correspondingshelf is from 4 to 6", or enough to hold up 7 or 8 plasterboards beforethe discharging boards push the one already discharged off the rack E. V

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein shownand'described in considerable detail, but it is not-the intention to belimited to the particular construction shown which can be Varied withinthescope of this invention. For example, the paths betweenthe top andbottom rolls may be widened so as to permit passage of plasterboardtherethrough without breaking the same by dropping the lower rollsinstead of raising the top rolls as shown. Alternatively this feature ofthe apparatus may be omitted altogether if desired. In like manner,alternative drives may be employed for the rolls and within certainlimits a different arrangement of rolls or guiding means for theplasterboard may be employed, Other alternative constructions, such asselves to those familiar with the art to which the,

present invention relates.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, means for engaging oppositesides of the plasterboard to be broken and for moving it forward, saidmeans forming for the plasterboard a path comprising three continuoussections the contiguous sections of which are angularly disposed withrespect to each other in opposite directions at an angle ofapproximately to 12 whereby the plasterboard as it moves therethrough isflexed first in one direction and then in the other, said flexing beingsuflicient to break the plasterboard at the weakened lines withoutotherwise damaging the same.

2. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of rolls forengaging opposite sides of the plasterboard to be broken and for movingit forward, said rolls forming for the plasterboard a path comprisingthree continuous sections the adjoining sections of which are angularlydisposed with respect to each other in opposite directions at an angleof approximately 5 to 12 whereby the plasterboard as it movestherethrough is flexed first in one direction and then in the other,said flexing being suiflcient to break the plasterboard at the weak enedlines without otherwise damaging the same, and means for driving aplurality of said rolls.

3. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of rolls forengaging opposite sides of the plasterboard to be broken and for movingit forward, said rolls forming for the plasterboard a path comprisingthree continuous sections the adjoining sections of which are angularlydisposed with respect to each other in opposite directions at an angleof approximately 5 to 12 whereby the plasterboard as it movestherethrough is flexed first in one direction and then in the other,said flexing being sufficient to break the plasterboard at the weakenedlines without otherwise damaging the same, means for driving a pluralityof said rolls, means for supporting a plurality of said rolls formovement transversely of the plane of movement of the plasterboard, andmeans for moving said lastmentioned rolls transversely of the path ofmovement of the plasterboard whereby the plasterboard may be passedthrough the apparatus without being flexed.

4. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of rolls forengaging opposite sides of the plasterboard to be broken and for movingit forward, said rolls forming for the plasterboard a path comprisingthree continuous sections the adjoining sections of which are angularlydisposed with respect to each other in opposite directions at an angleof approximately 8 whereby the plasterboard as it moves therethrough isflexed first in one direction and then in the other suflicient to breakthe plasterboard at the weakened lines without otherwise damaging thesame, means for driving a plurality of said rolls, means for supportinga plurality of said rolls located at one side of the path of theplasterboard for movement trans; versely of the plane of movement of theplaster board, and means for moving said last-mentioned rollstransversely of the path of movement of the plasterboard whereby theplasterboard may be passed through the apparatus without being flexed.

5. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, means for engaging oppositesides of the plasterboard to be broken and, for moving it forward, saidmeans forming for the plasterboard a path comprising three continuoussections the center one of which has a length approximately one-half ofthe distance between the weakened lines of the plasterboard and thecontiguous sections of which are angularly disposed with respect to eachother in opposite directions at an angle of approximately 5 to 12whereby the plasterboard as it moves therethrough is flexed first in onedirection and then in the other suflicient to break the plasterboard atthe weakened lines without otherwise damaging the same.

6. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of rolls forengaging opposite sides of the plasterboard to be broken and for movingit forward, said rolls forming for the plasterboard a path comprisingthree continuous sections the center one of which has a lengthapproximately one-half of the distance between the weakened lines of theplasterboard and the adjoining sections of which are angularly disposedwith respect to each other in opposite directions at an angle ofapproximately 5 to 12 whereby the plasterboard as it moves therethroughis flexed first in one direction and then in the other suflicient tobreak the plasterboard at the weakened lines without otherwise damagingthe same, and means for driving a plurality of said rolls.

7. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of rolls forengaging opposite sides of the plasterboard to be broken and for movingit forward, said rolls forming for the plasterboard a path comprisingthree continuous sections the center one of which has a lengthapproximately one-half of the distance between the weakened lines of theplasterboard and the adjoining sections of which are angularly disposedwith respect to each other in opposite directions at an angle ofapproximately 8 whereby the plasterboard as it moves therethrough isflexed first in one direction and then in the other suflicient to breakthe plasterboard at the weakened lines without otherwise damaging thesame, means for driving a plurality of said rolls, means for supportinga plurality of said rolls for movement transversely of the plane ofmovement of the plasterboard, and means for moving said last-mentionedrolls transversely of the path of movement of the plasterboard wherebythe plasterboard may be passed through the apparatus without beingflexed.

8. In an apparatus for automatically breaking plasterboard weakenedalong spaced predetermined transverse lines, a plurality of bottom rollsfor supporting the plasterboard to be broken, means for driving aplurality of said bottom rolls, said rolls forming for the plasterboarda path comprising three continuous sections the center one of which hasa length approximately onehalf of the distance between the weakenedlines of the plasterboard and the adjoining sections of which areoppositely disposed with respect to each other at an angle ofapproximately 8, top rolls located. at the intersections of saidsections, means for driving said top rolls, means located above thethird of said sections to be traversed by the plasterboard for engagingthe upper surface of the plasterboard, means for supporting said toprolls for movement transversely of the path of movement of theplasterboard, and means for moving said top rolls in a direction awayfrom said bottom rolls whereby plasterboard may be passed between said.top and bottom rolls without being flexed.

CLARENCE E. PARKER.

